“Several years ago, it was much easier to net $50,000 to $100,000 in income from a street fest”— and that money was crucial to many neighborhood groups, one organizer says. Now, “$100,000 is almost unheard of,” thanks to the increase in competition and the fact that many of these gatherings, which prompt street closings that hurt some local businesses, are indistinguishable from one another.

Not to the mention that, from the point of view of the music lover, 95 percent of the sounds featured on these stages are mediocre to painfully awful.

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Though the Huffington Post in general is notoriously and blithely unconcerned with original reporting, the website recently made an error that is egregious even by its own sloppy standards. Lifting unchecked a piece from something called Party Earth, it trumpets the miserable Congress Theater as one of the five best music venues in the world.

Never mind that even the most ardent fans of the electronic dance and underground hip-hop shows the venue books while others in town ignore these genres wouldn’t list the 1920s-era theater among the five best in Chicago, let alone the universe. Yet this piece of silliness ranks it beside the Paradisco in Amsterdam, Columbia Halle in Berlin, Le Grand Rex in Paris and — get this — the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

“If you're looking to see a great live show in a completely unique environment, catch a concert at one of Party Earth’s favorite music venues from around the world,” the piece concludes in what amounts to (presumably unpaid) advertising. Of course, enjoying the Congress helps if you’re experiencing what Rimbaud called “the systematic derangement of the senses.”

And speaking of which, last week’s hearing to revoke the controversial theater’s liquor license was postponed until Jan. 15. Calls to the liquor commission on the specifics of the complaints against the Congress have gone unreturned, and WBEZ is awaiting a response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

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Here’s a fun submission from a follower: A website called RRAuction.com is taking bids on a 60-minute cassette that astronaut Edgar Mitchell carried to the moon in 1971 aboard Apollo 14, the third NASA flight to land on the moon. No word on the quality of the lunar module’s sound system, which Mitchell piloted, but Texas-born Navy vet had didn’t have half-bad taste. (That is to say, the half without Blood Sweat & Tears, James Taylor or the 5th Dimension wasn’t bad.)

Looking for a unique Christmas present? Bidding ends on Nov. 29, and starts at only $200 — though it’s sure to shoot skyward quickly (ouch!).

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Finally, if you’ve ever wondered why MTV is so unconcerned with playing, you know, actual music anymore, here’s a brief clip submitted by a follower in which a network head answers that question as posed by a young viewer.